Kestrel spotting

KC the kestrel likes to hunt for small mammals and insects to eat and the grass that grows alongside roads is a great place to look for them. Kestrels are skilled at hovering while looking down into the grass with their sharp eyesight to spot any small animals hiding there. You can use your spotting skills to look out for kestrels while you are travelling in the car.

KC kestrel survey form: click to download

Print off our survey form and take it with you next time you go on a journey. If you spot a kestrel fill in where you saw it, what it was doing and what the weather was like and send the information to us.

It is important that only the passengers in the car take part in kestrel spotting,. Make sure you don’t distract the driver so that they can concentrate on driving safely.

Windhover mobile: click to download

An old nickname for the kestrel was windhover because it can hover in one place by flying forwards at exactly the same speed as the wind is blowing it backwards. You can make your own mobile of a ‘windhover’ using this beautiful painting by artist Ann Hillman.

How to make a windhover mobile:

• Download top and bottom views in this pdf document
• Stick one picture to a sheet of card and carefully cut it out.
• Cut out the other picture and stick it on the other side of the card.
• Do the same for the beetle picture.
• Use a piece of cotton or fishing twine to hang the kestrel with the beetle underneath.